It was early Thursday night when Luca walked into the familiar bar where he'd spent most of the last four years. It was early, and the place was empty aside from a few barflies.

"Holy shit. Luca, where you been?" Jay, his old friend and landlord, looked up. As Luca walked up to the bar, his brown eyes flashed from curious to concerned as Luca got closer.

"What happened to you? You don't look so good," Jay said as Luca sat.

"I'm not so good," Luca's voice was rough; he only passed his dad's driveway before letting out the loudest and longest scream he had ever heard. He didn't stop until he reached that damn Willow Park sign, and then he thought about her and broke down into tears.

"My dad is dying," Luca added, and Jay immediately gave him that look. That annoying pitying look he'd been able to avoid up until now.

"Shit, I'm sorry, man," Jay said as he poured him a whiskey. "You've never talked about him much."

"We haven't spoken in years," Luca confessed, "I just got back from seeing him, finally."

"Ah," Jay poured himself a shot and sipped it. "How was that?"

"Sobering," Luca sighed. "He said he has a feeling that he's almost done."

Those words had been haunting him ever since he'd heard them.

"Fuck."

"Yeah." Luca slammed the drink.

"What are you doing here then?"

"Don't matter," Luca said, "I'm leaving tomorrow. I packed up all my shit and fit what I could in my car. You can keep the furniture. Sorry, I can't give you a notice."

Jay nodded slowly, "thought I heard some noise up there earlier. Don't worry about it, Luca. You have been a solid renter for years. I can hold it for you in case you want to come back. You know, after."

"Nah, rent it out." Luca held up his glass, and Jay refilled it.

"You sure?" Jay asked. "It's one of the best apartments in the city; it'll go fast."

"My future is somewhere else," Luca admitted. "just wrapping my head around it, I guess."

Jay raised an eyebrow at those words, "So there's a girl?"

"Can't shake her."

"Then don't," Jay advised.

****

"I have everything we need for margaritas and lots of them!" an excited Carly burst into Kit's kitchen on Friday night with two buckets of Margarita mix and a huge bottle of tequila. Andre was behind her rolling his eyes as they walked in.

"You realize you mostly bought that to supply Jase and his friends with booze, right?" Kit told her, and Andre laughed.

"That's what I tried to tell her."

"Oh, stop, Andre, I know you can't drink, but Kit, you are going to have some fun tonight."

Leonardo had all but insisted they ALL enjoy the block party tonight, Andre included. So, Andre hired a nurse to sit at the house. After the long and emotional week, Kit only wanted to wallow in self-pity, but Carly and the block party had other ideas.

"Hey!" Jess stepped into the kitchen. She was all dolled up in a summer dress with her dark hair curled. "Where's Jase?"

"Getting some smoke," Billy, one of Jase's friends, stunned her, and Kit whirled around. "Where did you come from?"

"I've been here." He headed to her fridge, grabbed himself a handful of beers, and then walked back out of her house.

She despised block party weekends for this reason. They'd eat and drink everything before the weekend was up.

"Oh, okay, well, I think I'll wait here for him," Jess said as she sat down.

"You want a margarita?" Carly asked her; she'd just finished blending some and was pouring glasses full.

"Sure," Jess agreed as Carly handed her one; she then slid one in front of Kit, who just looked at it; she wasn't sure drinking in her state of mind was the best idea.

"So, uh, have you guys met her yet?" Jess asked.

"Who?' Kit asked.

"You know who," Jess pushed, "The girl Jase is into. I know he said it's new, but...is she pretty?"

Kit was confused and about to voice it when Carly chimed in quickly.

"Yeah, she's beautiful, sweet too," Carly said, and Jess's face fell.

"So, you think they'll get serious?" Jess asked.

"What are-" before Kit could finish her question Carly kicked her under the table.

"I don't know, I think maybe a part of him likes someone else if you catch my drift," Carly said pointedly. "But if that person likes him too, she might want to dump the loser and hurry it up."

"He has been talking about her a lot," Kit finally caught on and chimed in.

Jess took a long sip of her margarita, a determined look flashing over her eyes as she stood up, "I'm going to wait on the porch for Jase with his friends."

"What was that?" Kit laughed when the younger girl left. "Your idea, I assume, Carly?"

"No, I just went with it," Carly laughed. "It worked."

A knock at the door surprised Kit; no one knocked during block parties.

"That must be Davis!" Carly popped up to answer it.

"Who?" Kit asked as Andre looked at her and mouthed, sorry.

"No, Carly, I don't want to meet anyone"-

"Hey, Davis!" Carly led a curly-haired blonde guy into her kitchen anyway, "This is Kit, Kit- Davis! He goes to school with Andre."

"Hi, Davis," Andre said as he sat down and flashed a toothy grin at Kit.

"It's great to meet you, Kit. What a cute name!"

"Thanks," she offered a smile.

"It's short for Cricket. You want a drink, Davis?" Carly was up and pouring one; while Kit was wishing she could disappear.

"Sure, Carly, thanks," he glanced at her, then back at Kit. "Cricket is even more adorable."

"Please don't call me that," Kit said quietly. "Just Kit."

"Got it," he said as Carly handed him a drink.

"Let's go sit in the living room," Carly suggested, taking it upon herself to lead the way as Kit begrudgingly followed. She didn't want to be rude, but she couldn't be less into meeting someone this soon. What was Carly even thinking?

Andre sat on the recliner, and Carly curled up in his lap, leaving Kit and Davis forced to sit on the couch. Kit let him sit down first and then made sure she left plenty of space between him and her.

"So, Kit, Carly tells me you're going to nursing school this fall?" Davis asked as he settled in.

"Yeah," Kit agreed. "Been working hard to afford it."

"I hear you there," Davis said. "Even with my scholarships, I'm working two jobs."

"Two jobs and school, that's got to be tough," Carly commented.

"Can be; tips are good, though; whenever I mention I'm in law school, people ask for free law advice," he said, and Andre laughed at that.

"Kit gets that; she works hard, too," Carly added.

Kit was about to throw her drink at Carly, but she regained her composure, took a small sip, and nearly spit it out; it was so boozy.

"This is like straight tequila," Kit scoffed.

"I know; you had a long week!" Carly giggled as she slurped hers down.

Davis chuckled, "I was going to mention this is awfully strong, and I'm a bartender."

"I'll remake them," Kit offered, taking his glass and hers into the kitchen; she was just relieved to get away for a moment.

The relief was short-lived, though, because Davis had moved closer to the center of the couch when she got back, forcing Kit to sit closer to him. She handed him the frosty glass and sat with hers, taking a tiny sip and then setting it back down.

Davis started talking about the bar he worked at when Carly mentioned that Kit's dad was also a bar manager and bartender. Kit sat there quietly, wishing she had some magic words to make them all go away that wouldn't offend anyone.

She heard the kitchen door open and closed and assumed one of Jase's friends had come back inside.

"My invite get lost in the mail?"

Luca's voice stunned her. Her heart stopped, and she froze. Was he really here?

"Luca, you're back," Andre answered her unsaid question as Luca walked into the room; his cobalt eyes fell on her and then narrowed when he looked at the guy next to her.

"Move," he said to Davis as he walked towards them, "you're in my spot."

"I was already here," Davis surprised her by snapping back at Luca, him too because his eyebrows raised.

"You're going to move, or I'm going to move you myself," Luca's voice lowered, and Kit's entire stomach erupted in butterflies.

"Excuse me?" Davis looked up with a flash of annoyance in his eyes.

"Luca, don't be an ass," Andre mumbled.

"Why are you here? Where's dad?" Luca's eyes shot over to him.

"He insisted he has one fun night for the first time in forever!" Carly snapped back at Luca. "Which he isn't because he's on standby just in case, so he can't even have a drink."

"Carly, don't," Andre said quickly.

"You can drink," Luca said to Andre, "I'll go to the house. In a second," he looked at Kit. "Come talk to me."

"She was in the middle of a conversation," Davis spoke up again, and Luca's eyes darkened. Kit stood up before things got any more heated.

"It's fine; I need to talk to Luca," she told Davis and motioned for Luca to follow her into the kitchen.

"Who the hell was that clown?" Luca asked loudly as they walked away, and she heard David mutter, what an ass.

The second they entered the room, she whirled around to glare at him, "...really, Luca? You just left no calls, no texts."

"Aw, did you miss me?" he quipped as their eyes locked.

"No," she lied as he stepped closer, closing the distance between them; she backed up, her back hitting the island behind her. Luca stepped closer, his eyes trailing down her face.

"Well, I missed you," he said in a softer voice.

"Then why'd you just leave?" she asked, her voice nearly a whisper.

"Can I tell you later?" A vulnerability in his voice caught her by surprise, and she felt any anger melt away as she nodded.

"I lied," she confessed.

"About what?"

"I did miss you," she admitted as her eyes fell to his lips. "A lot."

"Come here," he cupped both her cheeks and their lips brushed together.

A cough startled them. She glanced over Luca's shoulder to see Davis had stepped into the kitchen with her drink.

"I just... in case you wanted this, and I wanted to make sure you were good..." Davis mumbled, looking embarrassed.

"Yeah, she's good. You can go now," Luca turned to glare at him. "Unless you want to see firsthand how you'll never be able to satisfy her."

"Luca!" she exclaimed as a red-faced Davis quickly ducked back into the other room.

"What? He's lucky I didn't take you right in front of him; damn sure wanted to," he muttered as his eyes glazed over her body.

"Oh, stop!" she couldn't help but blush furiously as her body reacted to his words.

"Who the fuck is that guy, anyway?" Luca all but growled.

"I don't know. Carly invited him over here." She arched an eyebrow. "You jealous?"

"No, beyond that," he said in a low voice. "I don't want anyone even thinking about touching you."

Holy crap. There went the butterflies again.

Jase popped in before she could comment on that, and he had a huge grin. He opened the fridge and grabbed the rest of the beer.

"Stone's going to murder you," Kit warned him.

"Let him; I'll die happy," Jase was still grinning. "It worked, Luca! She told me she's into me; she's been all over me!"

"Nice, man," Luca said. "I told you it would."

"Fucking right, she even hung up on Kyle earlier," Jase added.

"That's great, Jase!" Kit said, "Go get her!"

He was practically skipping as he left the house; it was the happiest she'd seen him in a long time.

"What did you do?" Kit asked Luca, realizing who was behind Jess's sudden jealousy.

"Gave him better advice than yours," Luca quipped and she huffed.

"Well, did it work?" He asked her with a look.

"Whatever," she said but couldn't hold back her little grin anyhow.

"Come with me?" he asked. "Back to the house? I don't want my dad there alone."

"Yeah, I will, but there is a nurse there."

"That he doesn't know." Luca pointed out.

He was worried about Leonardo... Her heart was about to explode at this point.

She sent Carly a text, letting her know she was leaving with Luca. The blonde would be annoyed as hell, but she deserved it after pushing Davis on her like that. Kit added that she could go ahead and let Andre drink because they'd be at the Donato house, which would probably help.

They walked past Jase's group of friends drinking on the porch to the driveway. The streets were loud as people wandered from house to house. She was looking forward to the quiet of the Donato house. It was far enough away from the main street that no block partyers would be around. Luca led her to his car, and her jaw dropped when she got in; his entire backseat was jam-packed with stuff.

"What is all this stuff?"

"My apartment. Well what I could fit of it."

"You're..."

"Moving to Willow Park?" he finished for her, "yup."

"Luca!" she gasped. "That's why you left? To get your stuff?"

"Yeah, but I didn't realize that until I got there," he admitted, his eyes focused on the road ahead as he drove them past all the partyers. "I was – flipping out a little, couldn't breathe, so I just left."

She nodded silently, looking down at her lap; what she'd thought happened; she was getting to know this man, but maybe not as well as she thought. She never expected him to come back this fast, not for her.

"That was fucked up," he added as he pulled up to the estate. "You deserve better than that."

She was stunned once again. He got out, and she was quickly behind him.

"Technically, you didn't owe me any explanation," she offered as they reached the front door. He whirled around, and his eyes met hers with an intense look that nearly seared through her.

"Yes, I do, Cricket," he cupped her face again and leaned in closer. She realized at that moment that she'd never correct him again because her name from his lips was her favorite sound in the world.

"I'm going to do the right thing by him. I want to be there for the time he has left." His voice broke at the end, and her heart clenched, but neither pulled their gaze away.

"Really? Luca, that's going to mean the world to him," she said with teary eyes.

"I have too," he whispered, "...but I can't do it without you. I need you."

"You have me," she promised him, "I'm here."

This time there were no interruptions when their lips met.

Her arms came to wind around his neck, pulling him closer to her as his lips claimed hers. His hands were gentle on her face as his fingertips softly stroked her skin. This was so different from the usual steamy kisses he gave her; it was tender and soft. She closed her eyes and melted into it; the feeling it gave her was something totally new to her.

It felt like... home.

.